Training, Qualifications and Experience

Howard Widdicombe Counselling in Surrey

Personal and Professional Development

The majority of my training and professional development has been through Spectrum where the focus was essentially on:

1. Behavioural psychology
2. Jungian, gestalt, humanistic and integrative psychotherapy
3. Person centred counselling

And more recently in the last 8 years has been concentrated on developing my understanding of the theory and practice behind Neuroscience which looks at the neurobiology of learning and behaviour - the universal process that animates all living life forms and enables us to develop our internal sense of self and our external perspective on the situations and circumstances we continually encounter on our journey through our lives.

The major contributors to this process have been the following Organisations and programmes:-

The Embody Lab

• ISTT Mentorship Programme
• ISTT Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy Certificate
• ISTT Healing through Somatic Attachment Therapy
• ISTT Embodied Boundaries & Resilience
• ISTT Members Master Class ongoing Programme

Trauma Solutions

• Working with Complex Trauma - untangling somatic wounds
• Fundamentals of Attachment styles

Somatic Experience Faculty

• Principles of Somatic Experiencing

NScience Somatic Psychology Expertise Programme

• Working with dependency in clients with complex trauma (Kathy Steele)
• Key body centred interventions and parts work for PTSD, Somatisation and Chronic Pain (Dr Arielle Schwartz)

Spectrum training

The main subject areas covered in my Spectrum training are listed below.

• How to become a Spectrum trained psychotherapist
• One year course in Psychotherapy
• One year continuation course
• Post graduate course in Psychotherapy
• Post graduate continued education programme.
• Formative Psychology with Stanley Keleman (Centre for Bio-energetic studies - California)
• Stress and self-management workshops with Gerhard Zimmermann (Southampton Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice)
• Action techniques in therapy
• Working with anger
• Developing clinical intervention skills
• Family Work (fathers and their sons/daughters)
• Gestalt therapy - theory and practice
• Men for men (Men's group)
• Practical application of interpersonal relationship skills
• Practice management for psychotherapists and counsellors
• Process oriented coaching programme
• Professional dream workshops (based on formative psychology)
• Professional seminar series (which looks at the dynamics of a therapeutic relationship)
• Re-parenting
• Self-esteem
• Sexuality (basic, intermediate and advanced) and childhood sexual abuse (occurrence and prevention)
• The way we work (an opportunity to talk about the work of, and work with, other Spectrum therapists)
• Transforming relationships
• Supervision
• Working with couples
• Working with groups

Residential Programme

• Marathons (24 to 96 hours in length on specific topics for personal development)

Workshops and seminars

• Dreams
• Re-parenting
• Family work (fathers and sons; fathers and daughters)
• Self esteem
• Relationships

Other training

• Counselling skills programme (Westminster Pastoral Foundation)
• Effective techniques for dealing with somatisation (Margaret Landale)
• Psychotherapeutic techniques for affect regulation (CONFER)
• Exploring the mind in the body (Chiron Centre for Body Psychotherapy)
• Ways of working with the body (Chiron Centre for Body Psychotherapy)
• Working with breathing (Chiron Centre for Body Psychotherapy)
• The Polyvagal Theory (Brighton Therapy Partnership)

I am also trained and have worked as a:

• Telephone counsellor
• Befriender and domiciliary support worker for families who have children with development and learning difficulties
• Classroom support assistant in a special needs school for children on the autistic spectrum

Qualifications

• B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Behavioural Science from Aston University in Birmingham
• Post Graduate Diploma in Psychotherapy from Spectrum

Experience

I have 47 years' experience of working professionally with people in a variety of roles including, Human Resources (Personnel) Manger, Company Training and Development Manager, Organisation Development and Change Management Consultant, Business Psychologist, Counsellor & Psychotherapist, Family Befriender and Classroom Assistant at a school for autistic children.

Supervision

I have regular Supervision for my work at the Southampton Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice.

Code of conduct and ethical practice

I subscribe and adhere to the code of ethics provided by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy for my professional practice. I am committed to working without prejudice as to age, class, disability, gender, religion, sexual orientation or upbringing

I am included on the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists Voluntary Register which is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.

Membership of Professional Organisations

• Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CFCIPD)
• Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society (GMBPsS)
• Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (RMBACP)
• Associate Member of the Association of Humanistic Psychology Practitioners (AMAHPP)
• Member of British Association of Psychological Type (BAPT)

I am a Founder member of the Rowan Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice, the Surrey Counselling and Psychotherapy Initiative and the Counselling Directory.